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The term "top special teams co-ordinator" can be a very subjective term, but there seems to be a consensus out there that Craig Dickenson is that man in the CFL.

"It's very flattering, but it's opinion," Dickenson said. "The reality is you're going to be judged on results. I've been fortunate. I've been on good teams with good special teams players, and I've been on some teams that weren't quite as good and we struggled a little bit."

For the last few years Dickenson's special teams have been among the cream of the league's crop. The Saskatchewan Roughriders, where he coached the last two years, had the best kickoff return and kickoff cover teams in 2012, and their punt teams were both in the top half of the league. The year before only one of his four special teams with the Riders was in the lower half of the league, and that group was fifth.

"Your special teams are often a barometer of your entire team," Dickenson said. "If you've got special teams that are really good, flying around and making plays, that is your personnel. That is your team.

"I really am flattered when I hear people say they think I'm a good special teams coach, but I also know that you could be really good one week and be really crappy the next week based on how you played.

"So I appreciate it, but I also understand it's opinion. I gotta try to do the best I can regardless of opinion."

Week 1 in his Dickenson's new gig as Bombers special teams co-ordinator was both good and bad. The Montreal Alouettes returned a punt for a touchdown, and then Winnipeg's Demond Washington did the same. In the rematch on Thursday in Montreal, the Bombers fumbled twice on special teams, losing it once.

Winnipeg's special teams have been in the basement for the last few years, so if he can get the ship headed in the right direction it will only help the team's overall record. It's early in the season, though, so Dickenson is still putting his stamp on the team like only a special teams co-ordinator can.

"You get a chance to coach the whole team, you get a chance to have input in personnel a little bit, and you can make a difference in the whole message to the team," Dickenson said.

Dickenson was a kicker at the University of Montana, and the first job they had to offer him was the assistant special teams co-ordinator gig. The rest is history.

"I've coached receivers and running backs," he said. "I've helped out on defence. But it always seems to come back to special teams and the kicking game. It's just kind of a niche I've carved out, and I really like it."

As Advertised in the Winnipeg SUN

Dickenson puts his stamp on Bombers' special teams

The term "top special teams co-ordinator" can be a very subjective term, but there seems to be a consensus out there that Craig Dickenson is that man in the CFL.

"It's very flattering, but it's opinion," Dickenson said. "The reality is you're going to be judged on results. I've been fortunate. I've been on good teams with good special teams players, and I've been on some teams that weren't quite as good and we struggled a little bit."

For the last few years Dickenson's special teams have been among the cream of the league's crop. The Saskatchewan Roughriders, where he coached the last two years, had the best kickoff return and kickoff cover teams in 2012, and their punt teams were both in the top half of the league. The year before only one of his four special teams with the Riders was in the lower half of the league, and that group was fifth.